The news that Erica Fuller, the former director of the Multicultural Center, would be resigning after spending only a year on campus came as somewhat of a shock. Fuller came to Eugene with an undeniable zeal for addressing campus diversity issues, and this spirit and enthusiasm made for quite an eventful year. But she found our weather mundane and said she had to return to the Florida sunshine from which she came.
Former student advocate for the University of California at Santa Cruz Steve Morozumi has replaced her.
As one of the largest student groups on campus, the MCC has a responsibility to both minority students and also to the campus in general. In her many activities on campus, Fuller attempted to bring out the differing viewpoints from the many non-white students on campus. Her efforts deserve praise, but in this time of transition it is important to remember that in promoting the needs of some on campus, one cannot forget the needs of others.
Too often discussions on race are reduced to a polarized debate between skin tones — those with a lighter shade of skin versus those with a darker shade. That has never been much of a problem here at the University, but steps can be taken to ensure it never is. Instead of one side placing the blame on the other or ignoring each other, the many groups on campus need to work together to form one coherent identity. We cannot point fingers at each other, but instead should look for mutually beneficial solutions to diversity questions.
One way to do this is for the MCC to continue to make an effort to promote the views of its members on campus in a way that does not alienate it from the rest of the campus. As much as the MCC wants to ensure its voice is heard, it and other groups need to be strong members of the campus community. Criticism should always be given where it is needed, but we need to avoid playing a “blame game” in our attempts to promote diversity on campus.
Morozumi, along with the rest of the MCC, is an excellent position to help facilitate a strong discussion on race and racial perception here on campus. As more non-white students come to the University, it will become even more imperative that these students feel welcome on campus. It is the responsibility of the majority of students to offer that welcome, but it is the responsibility of groups on campus representing those students to not closet them from the campus community. The groups should serve as a resource of support for those students, but not as their only engagement with campus life.
The problem with groups divided along cultural or ethnic lines is that there is a risk they will identify themselves first as members of that group before acknowledging being a member of the greater whole. No one is saying that the situation has become so polarized that the University identity has become lost; it just needs to be considered that we are in fact one whole community.
The MCC has always been one of the most visible groups on campus, and let’s hope Morozumi helps keep it that way. But let’s also hope that as the issues of race continue to be discussed, we can do it as one community and not as a group of factions in competition to be heard.

Gang of Nine refreshing
A certain group of folks with decidedly pro-development views have been the cause of some quite indignant outrage from many members of the Eugene community recently. The “Gang of Nine” has been poking fun at the Eugene City Council with professionally drawn cartoons that have appeared daily in advertising space in The Register-Guard since June 24.
The cartoons have inspired dozens of letters to local news publications and were the subject of a Register-Guard news story and several columns, one even authored by the newspaper’s executive editor.
While the idea of a newspaper making a media buzz over its own advertising is another issue altogether, the ads are in and of themselves an interesting look at the Eugene community. Many critics of the cartoons are blasting them for what they say are mean-spirited depictions of councilors and the fact that those who paid for the ads are staying anonymous. Well, anyone who has any experience with editorial cartoons knows that caricatures are by their nature not supposed to reflect someone in his or her best light, and anonymity is anyone’s right in the correct context, which advertising is.
What is refreshing is the fact that this campaign comes from the other side of the Eugene political spectrum. Most of the time, Eugene seems to operate in some sort of liberally progressive vacuum. And it is nice to see those on the other side of the fence making some noise.
This is not an endorsement for the Gang of Nine, but an endorsement for an active and engaging local political dialogue. So let the critics whine, but for the sake of good political debate, let’s hope the gang doesn’t stop getting its opinions heard.